Congress leader in West Bengal to join Trinamool

Kolkata, Dec 14 (IANS) Senior Congress leader in West Bengal Sudip Bandhopadhyay Sunday said he was quitting his party to join the Trinamool Congress. “I took the initiative on my own to talk to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and expressed my keenness to join her party. I will again talk to her Monday in New Delhi on this issue,” Bandhopadhyay told a Bengali television channel here.

Sitting legislator from Bowbazar constituency and a former member of parliament from Kolkata’s north-west constituency, Bandhopadhyay alleged that the Congress was not giving him “due importance” and he had already informed party president Sonia Gandhi about his decision to quit.

“It was getting more and more difficult for me to continue as a Congress party member. I was not getting the importance I used to enjoy during the time of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,” he said.

He said his decision to join the Trinamool Congress was to enable him combat the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the state.

“I think if we can strategically draw a plan to contest the CPI-M in West Bengal under Banerjee’s leadership, it would help both the political parties to defeat the communists in the coming general and other state-level elections,” he said.